Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary" Quiz

Answer: Disasters

The quote continues: "As to the nature of it there appears to be no uniformity. Castor and Pollux were born from the egg. Pallas came out of a skull. Galatea was once a block of stone. Peresilis, who wrote in the tenth century, avers that he grew up out of the ground where a priest had spilled holy water. It is known that Arimaxus was derived from a hole in the earth, made by a stroke of lightning. Leucomedon was the son of a cavern in Mount Aetna, and I have myself seen a man come out of a wine cellar." Very classical.

As far as is known, Ambrose Bierce was born in a more conventional way in Ohio during 1842. He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom had first names beginning with the letter 'A'. His father built up a collection of books which gave Ambrose his foundation in literature.

Answer: Ignorance

Quite a few others have provided a definition for 'learning'. Along the same lines perhaps, Albert Einstein is noted for saying: "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

Schooled in Indiana, Bierce left home in 1857 at the age of fifteen to start work as an apprentice printer for the anti-slavery newspaper 'Northern Indianan'. His writing career did not start until after his wartime experiences.

Answer: Boundaries

This suggests that Bierce saw war as an instrument for territorial acquisition. His own wartime experiences had a strong influence in his writings and resulted in a number of short stories such as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". This was first put on celluloid in the 1929 silent film "The Bridge".

With the start of the American Civil War, Bierce enlisted in the Union army. He was involved in numerous engagements including the Battles of Rich Mountain (1861), of Shiloh (1862), of Chickamauga (1863) and of Kennesaw Mountain (1864). He received a serious head wound at this last battle.

Answer: Salt

Through his journalistic writings, Bierce gained a reputation as 'the wickedest man in San Francisco' for his damning observations and caustic wit. After leaving the army Bierce started writing as a journalist in San Francisco. He wrote for a number of publications including 'The San Francisco News Letter'.

The origins of "The Devil's Dictionary" can be traced to his involvement with this paper.

Answer: Detected offenders

Bierce seems to have had a fairly cynical view of relationships. This may have reflected his own marriage break-down. He separated from his wife in 1888 when he discovered compromising letters to her from an admirer.

Some more of his definitions: "Husband (n): One who, having dined, is charged with the care of the plate" and "Marriage (n): The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two."

Bierce and his wife Mollie Day moved to England in 1872 for three years where his writing earned him the nickname of 'Bitter Bierce'. He wrote for the 'Fun' magazine (a competitor of 'Punch' magazine) and published several books under the pseudonym of Dod Grile. His three children were also born during this time. He returned to San Francisco in 1875 hoping to pick up where he left off.

Answer: To go fishing

Bierce did not think much of politicians and public officials. Here is his definition of 'politics': "A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage."

Back in USA he ended up working for the "San Francisco Examiner". An example of his journalism comes from when the first transcontinental railway was being built with Government loans under generous terms. The railway companies sought to have Congress quietly pass a bill excusing them from repayment. Bierce was despatched to report on the matter. When one of the railway owners tried to bribe him, he published his answer in the newspaper. The bill failed.

Answer: Eyes

Scythians were a group of Iron-age tribes based in Eastern Europe and Central Asia appearing from the Eighth Century BC for seven hundred years or so. They were notoriously barbarous warriors, reportedly drinking their enemies' blood and such like.

Bierce had a long career as a journalist, writing against oppression and seeking to unmask many of mankind's failings in politics, religion and society. He also wrote poetry. His biting wit earned him much praise but also many harsh critics. Did he define 'cynic' with himself in mind?

Answer: Burden

The term "white man's burden" harks back to the time of the British Empire and Victorian English usage. Rudyard Kipling immortalised the term in his 1899 poem of the same name. It is a reference to colonialism by Western nations being for the 'benefit' of those countries being conquered and ruled. The 'burden' has been defined as both the conquered people and the 'duty' to colonise.

Answer: Lying

This lexicon was originally published in 1906 as "The Cynic's Word Book". It was re-named in 1911 as "The Devil's Dictionary" with more recent versions including material previously missed out but written by Bierce in 1875 as "The Demon's Dictionary".

Answer: Misses

Misfortune appears in many of his writings. His "Tales of Soldiers and Civilians" (1891) is a collection of nineteen (expanded in later editions) short stories based on his wartime experiences, where misfortune is mixed with large doses of irony.

He suffered his own misfortunes including outliving two of his three children. In 1913, at the age of 71, Bierce decided to take a tour of his old Civil War battlefields followed by Mexico to observe the Mexican Revolution then taking place. It was while riding with Pancho Villa's rebels that he disappeared. He was last heard of in December of that year. It appears that misfortune caught up with him permanently. Or perhaps he went seeking it.